Børge Brende is Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway. He started his political career in 1985 as political adviser with the Young Conservatives. He has been Deputy Chair of the Conservative Party (1994–1998) and a member of the Storting (Norwegian parliament) for more than 10 years. From 2001 to 2004 he was Minister of the Environment. He was Minister of Trade and Industry from 2004 to 2005. In 2008, Mr Brende was appointed as Managing Director the World Economic Forum in Geneva. He was Secretary General of Red Cross Norway from 2009 to 2011, before returning to the World Economic Forum in 2011. Mr Brende was Chair of the UN Commission of Sustainable Development in 2003–2004 and member of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (advisory body to the Chinese Government) from 2005 to 2013. He has also been Chair of the Board in Mesta, Norway’s largest onshore contracting group, and Member of the Board in Statoil. Mr Brende has a degree in economics, law and history from NTNU in Trondheim.

Børge Brende's talk: ”Economic diplomacy in light of global change”

Zanny Minton Beddoes is The Economist’s economic editor, overseeing all of the prestigious publication’s American and global economics coverage and managing a team of writers from around the world. As one of the world's most renowned, brilliant, and engaging speakers on economic and financial matters, Minton Beddoes is highly decorated. She is the winner of two of the highest honors a journalist can receive -- a 2012 Gerald Loeb Award for economic journalism and "Journalist of the Year" awarded by the Wincott Foundation for financial journalism.

Before moving to Washington in April 1996, Minton-Beddoes was The Economist’s emerging-markets correspondent based in London. She has written surveys of the World Economy, Latin American finance, global finance and Central Asia.

Minton Beddoes joined The Economist in 1994 after spending two years as an economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Before joining the IMF, she worked as an adviser to the Minister of Finance in Poland, as part of a small group headed by Professor Jeffrey Sachs of Harvard University. Minton Beddoes has written extensively about the American economy and international financial policy. She has published in Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy, and has testified before Congress on the introduction of the euro.

Minton Beddoes is a regular TV and radio commentator. Recent appearances include Real Time with Bill Maher, Charlie Rose, PBS Newshour, and Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien. She is a regular contributor to Morning Edition (NPR) and has appeared frequently on shows such as the Diane Rehm Show and To the Point with Warren Olney (NPR). She is a member of the Research Advisory Board of the Committee for Economic Development and has been a trustee of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 

Zanny Minton Beddoes' talk: “Making sense of the Global Economy”

Idar Kreutzer is CEO of Finance Norway. From 2000 to 2012 he was the CEO of Storebrand ASA. Kreutzer chairs the Board of Norway Post and the Norwegian Refugee Council. He is Deputy Chairman of the Corporate Assembly of Statoil AS and a member of the Corporate Assembly of Norsk Hydro ASA. In January 2013 he was appointed member of the Strategy Council for the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global. He has been a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and has co-chaired their Vision 2050. He is a member of the Board of the University of Oslo and a member of the Advisory Board of NHH Norwegian School of Economics. Kreutzer holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Business Administration from the NHH Norwegian School of Economics.

Idar Kreutzer's talk: "From Challenge to Opportunity” 

Sony Kapoor, Director of the International Think Tank Re-Define, is an influential economist, financial sector expert and development practitioner.

Sony’s career uniquely spans investment banking, civil society, academia and policy making across several countries. At Re-Define, Sony advises several European governments, developing economies, the European Union and multilateral institutions on Economic Strategy and Policy. Sony also has a multidisciplinary role at the London School of Economics where he is the Strategy Adviser to the Systemic Risk Centre, a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Development Department and a Visiting Fellow at the Government Department.

Sony is presently an adviser to the Institute for New Economic Thinking’s Council on the Euro crisis alongside George Soros and a Commissioner on the Single Market for the Centre for European Reform together with Martin Wolf. He is also member of the Friends of Europe High Level Commission on Social Europe along with Pascal Lamy and an expert for the OECD Committee on Development Finance along with Justin Lin. In addition, Sony judges the European Finance Minister of the Year contest for the Financial Times.

Sony chaired the Banking Stakeholder Group at the European Banking Authority, the pan-EU banking regulator, until 2013. He was a Visiting Fellow at the European Commission, an Expert Adviser to the European Parliament and a Visiting Scholar at the International Monetary Fund focusing mostly on crisis management, economic governance and financial sector reform.

Sony Kapoor's talk: ”What next for the global financial system?”

Hege Marie Norheim is Senior Vice President for Statoil’s Corporate Sustainability Unit, which provides strategic direction and drives the company’s social, environmental and climate policy and performance. She has more than 23 years of experience in business development, strategy, communications, sustainability and Norwegian politics and governance.

During her 7 years at Statoil Hege Marie has held numerous leadership roles including: senior vice president for business development on the Norwegian Continental Shelf; senior vice president for arctic and sub-arctic business development activities; and senior vice president for the corporate climate unit. In the latter, Hege was responsible for setting the strategic agenda for Statoil’s climate ambitions and actions. Hege joined Statoil when the company merged with Norsk Hydro in 2007.

At Norsk Hydro, Hege served first as communications vice president for the oil and gas division, and later as vice president for partner operated licenses.

Prior to joining Norsk Hydro, Hege worked for several years in the Norwegian government as advisor for the Norwegian Prime Minister's Office. She served as state secretary to the Prime Minister in 2000 and to the Minister of Finance in 2001.

Hege was elected as the first female vice president in the Word Petroleum Congress executive committee in 2005, a position she held until 2007. She has also served in several Board of Directors within the finance sector, telecom and processing industry as well as public enterprises within the cultural sphere.

Hege holds an MSc in Economics from the Norwegian School of Economics with major in finance from Hochshule St.Gallen, Switzerland. She lives in Oslo, Norway and has three sons.

Hege Marie Norheim's talk: ”Role of Oil and Gas in future sustainable energy systems”  

Kristin Skogen Lund is a former CEO at Telenor, CEO at Aftenposten, CEO at Scanpix Scandinavia, and CEO and editor at the web portal Scandinavia Online. 

Skogen Lund had international leading positions in Unilever and Coca-Cola, and she was an Export Scholarship at the Norwegian Embassy in Madrid. Skogen Lund is a board member at Ericsson, former President at NHO and a board member at Orkla ASA. Furthermore, she has a MBA from INSEAD and a Bachelors Degree in International Studies and Business Administration from the University of Oregon.

Kristin Skogen Lund will participate along with Lars Petter Maltby, Tom Fidjeland and Hans Christian Gabrielsen in the panel discussion “Sustainability and challenges and opportunities for Norwegian business”.

Lars Petter Maltby is General Manager for Saint-Gobain Silicon Carbide activities in Europe. Maltby is chairman for Eyde-cluster which organizes joint efforts by the process industry in Southern Norway. He is also chairman for Miljøfondet, a financial fund that ensures industry compliance for sulfur emissions reductions in Norway, and member in several expert committees related to energy and climate.

He is educated at Norwegian University of Science and Technology and holds a Ph.D. in materials handling and processing.

Lars Petter Maltby will participate along with Kristin Skogen Lund, Tom Fidjeland and Hans Christian Gabrielsen in the panel discussion “Sustainability and challenges and opportunities for Norwegian business”.

Tom Fidjeland has more than 20 years of experience in the international Oil and Gas Industry. He has held key positions as R&D manager at St. Gobain and VP of ENGINEERING at National Oilwell Varco before being appointed as VP and General Manager of Cameron Sense in 2013. Tom Fidjeland holds a MSc in Cybernetics from NTH (NTNU).

Cameron’s Center of Excellence for drilling equipment, Cameron Sense, is located in Kristiansand and has approximately 600 employees. The main technology and products include drilling control systems, pipe handling equipment, mud systems and top drives. Cameron Sense is a leading supplier of drilling equipment to the global market.

Tom Fidjeland will participate along with Lars Petter Maltby, Kristin Skogen Lund and Hans Christian Gabrielsen in the panel discussion “Sustainability and challenges and opportunities for Norwegian business”.

Helene Løken is the Communication Manager at the subsea construction company EMAS AMC. She also worked as a journalist and project manager at the weekly publication Mandag Morgen, where she mostly covered the energy industry.  Helene holds a degree in Mandarin, journalism and international political economy from the University of Sydney. She has also studied Chinese Politics at Fudan University of Shanghai, and has written and given presentations on aspects of Chinese development. 

Per Otto Dyp has an engineering degree in the field of Cybernetics from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. He has extensive experience in key leadership positions at Tandberg Data, ABB and Siemens, both in Norway and internationally. Dyb is currently CEO of Siemens Norway and is Deputy Chair of  Veidekke ASA and board member at GC Rieber AS.

Per Otto Dyb's talk: "The future is electric. A portfolio for a sustainable future"

Remi Eriksen brings deep and wide management experience from the oil, gas, energy and maritime industries in Asia, Middle East, Europe and Americas to his current role as Group COO and EVP, and Member of the Executive Committee of DNV GL Group. He has in particular grown extensive management skills in leading change in a complex global, multi-cultural business environment to create and capture sustainable growth opportunities. 

Whilst familiar with general technology challenges and opportunities, Remi's technical expertise lies within offshore and marine technology as well as gas value chains. He has initiated and managed several joint industry projects in the offshore and marine domain, resulting in global standards and recommended practices.

Remi holds a Master degree in Electronics and Computer Science from the Norwegian Institute of Technology and has completed further executive education at Rice University, IMD and INSEAD. In the course of his career he has also published several professional papers and articles and become an appreciated public speaker.

Remi Eriksen's talk: ”Logistics outlook – sustainability, innovation and survival”

Hans-Christian Gabrielsen, born 1967, was elected 2nd Vice President of LO at the congress in 2013. He came from the office of Federal Secretary of Fellesforbundet where he had been a part of the elected leadership since 2003. His occupational background is from the pulp and paper industry.

Hans Christian Gabrielsen will participate along with Lars Petter Maltby, Tom Fidjeland and Kristin Skogen Lund in the panel discussion “Sustainability and challenges and opportunities for Norwegian business”.